It is spring in the Northern Hemisphere! We couldn’t be happier that the days have finally extended beyond a 4pm sunset and that we can count on some sunny skies from time to time. As we think about all of the exciting days of cycling that lie ahead of us, though, we are also thinking about how we will stay safe out and about.
We all wish for - and work towards - a world where cycling is safer for everyone; where every road has a cycle lane and where drivers are trained to look out for cyclists. Unfortunately, we are not there yet! While we wait for systemic change that keeps all road users as safe as possible, many people in the cycling community believe that thinking about our visibility when we are riding is just as important in the summer as it is in the winter.
In fact, with research showing that cyclists tend to overestimate how well drivers - who may not be looking for a cyclist - can see them, we may want to make sure that we do things to make ourselves more visible in all light and weather conditions.
So, if you are looking at trying to make yourself more visible while riding, what do we recommend in terms of staying visible?
Did you know just how much your choice of cycling jersey or t-shirt colour impacts how visible you are to drivers and from what distance? It is pretty amazing!
If you want to max out your visibility on the road, why not try reflective vest on over the top of your cycling gear? You can get a great hi-vis vest for next to nothing from almost any car service shop. Or, if it is very hot and you have a little more to spend, what about a fluorescent harness like this one from Monkeysee?
Sometimes it is just too baking hot to wear a hi-vis vest over all of your clothes, and fluorescent yellow or orange just don’t feel like your colours.
If this is you, and you feel that having something fluorescent on your bicycle will make you feel safer, how about trying attaching a hi-vis triangle to the back of your bicycle? A simple, cheap solution that will help drivers to spot you from further away.
Did you know that there are bike lights that you can use during the day? You may even have seen riders out and about with them!
We have to say that we didn’t actually know that they existed until our friends at See.Sense started making them. And they are brilliant and could be another good option if you fancy them.
See.Sense’s new ICON3 is bright enough to be seen in direct sunlight and you can easily customise your brightness and flash patterns in the See.Sense app. Riding with a See.Sense light also allows you to contribute to anonymised ride data while you ride around; helping to make roads in your area safer for everyone. How cool. Even cooler though? See.Sense have given Beeliners a 10% discount on everything in their store. Use the code BEELINE10 to nab a bargain.
